Mortgage applications increased 18.6 percent from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 29, 2019.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 18.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 18 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 39 percent from the previous week and was at its highest level since January 2016.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent compared with the previous week and was 10 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“There was a tremendous surge in overall applications activity, as mortgage rates fell for the fourth week in a row—with rates for some loan types reaching their lowest levels since January 2018. Refinance borrowers with larger loan balances continue to benefit, as we saw another sizeable increase in the average refinance loan size to $438,900—a new survey record,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “We had expected factors such as the ongoing strong job market and favorable demographics to help lift purchase activity this year, and the further decline in rates is providing another tailwind. Purchase applications were almost 10 percent higher than a year ago.”
[adbutler zone_id="326314"]
[adbutler zone_id="326316"]
"The average loan size for purchase loans declined slightly, as applications for smaller purchase loan sizes exceeded that of higher loan sizes—a positive sign that first-time buyers were increasingly active in the market, ” said Kan.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 47.4 percent of applications from 40.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 9.5 percent of applications.
The FHA share of applications decreased to 8.8 percent from 9.3 percent the week prior. The Veterans Affairs share of applications remained unchanged from 10.4 percent the week prior. The Department of Agriculture share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.6 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $484,350 or less, decreased to 4.36 percent from 4.45 percent; and points increased to 0.44 from 0.39, including the origination fee, for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances, greater than $484,350, decreased to 4.21 percent from 4.35 percent; and points decreased to 0.25 from 0.27, including the origination fee, for 80 percent loan-to-value loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration decreased to 4.41 percent from 4.48 percent; and points remained unchanged at 0.48, including the origination fee, for 80 percent loan-to-value loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.78 percent from 3.87 percent; and points decreased to 0.40 from 0.47, including the origination fee, for 80 percent loan-to-value loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs remained unchanged at 3.77 percent; and points increased to 0.38 from 0.30, including the origination fee, for 80 percent loan-to-value loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990.
